Published: October 3, 2017, words by Katie Thomas

Clouded House head honcho Lukas Lyrestam is the next contributor to our Secretsundaze Studios takeover. Having mixed his last three records there, Lukas told us how he’s looking forward to working there more. He describes it as a comfortable and cosy place in which to work, benefitting from a sound desk which gives its outputs a depth of warmth you wouldn’t find in all studios.

For his Tracks Of The Day, Lukas has selected four of his favourite records from friends of Secretsundaze Studios. His handpicked selections include tracks from French singer Lio, Wild Oats boss man Kyle Hall, Clouded House’s own Ludvig Franzen and Bell Towers.

But first, a little about Lukas Lyrestam. Originally from Stockholm, Sweden and now residing in London, he started his label Clouded House in 2015 inspired by his love for deep, melodic house and 80s melodies. The label has provided a platform for his own singles; ‘1989’, ‘Can’t Move’, and ‘Young Bulbs’. There was also an EP titled Clouded Edits which included an ode to The Purple One in Lukas’s 90s flavoured edit of ‘Erotic City’. Clouded House’s newest release – three track Sthlm 4ever – puts together the nostalgic 80s synths of Lyrestam’s ‘Little Bit’, bright melodic house that would sound at home on Lobster Theremin courtesy of Gideon Forceman’s ‘Listen Up’ and the wistful, blissed out ‘Lie’ from Ludwig Franzen. Sthlm 4ever is available now in all good record stores.

In London, Lukas has supported the likes of Mark E and Pig & Dan. More recently he’s become a resident at dansa, a party that launched last year. Offering the best in warm and emotive house, soul, Balearic and disco, this summer they launched Selector Sundays at Tottenham venue STYX. Over the last few months he’s warmed up the Sunday afternoon dancers in support of the likes of Suzanne Kraft, Donna Leake and Nick the Record. Today he selects Tracks Of The Day, an ode to some of his Secretsundaze Studios colleagues and friends.

LIO

Sage Comme Une Image

“Although this track was released back in 1980, over the last couple of months I’ve seen it tearing up dancefloors left, right and centre. The instrumentation, mixdown and groove are all super classy, the fact it sounds this good after so many years; that’s something we can all aspire to. Then there’s the added bonus of the fact it’s French which makes it ten times more sexy.”

Ludvig Franzen

Lie

“This is out now on my label Clouded House and it really ticks all the boxes. It’s very dense, chugging dance music with a sprinkling of a well known, pitched down spoken vocal. When I heard this whilst cruising around Soundcloud I couldn’t believe it hadn’t been pressed yet. I think this is a future classic for the house heads.”

Kyle Hall

Teacher Plant

“I’ve been a fan of Kyle Hall for a long time, and in my opinion this is the best thing he’s put out since 2013’s ‘The Boat Party’. There’s super loose drum programming, deep jazzy chords and a playful, immersive atmosphere which is rarely replicated. This is exactly the kind of record I can get lost to on the dancefloor.”

Cale Parks

Lagoon Fool (Bell Towers Remix)

“I don’t get to play this out very often but it’s so unique. For me, Bell Towers is a producer who is always pushing the the boundaries, redefining what house music should be. This has all the best bits of Italo and early 90s production mashed up into one shiny, driving package.”